Brazil coffee growers aim high in the savannah

By Peter Blackburn

PATROCINIO, Brazil, Nov 7 (Reuters) - In the high savannah of Minas Gerais, coffee pioneers aim to boost quality so they can fetch higher premiums and stay afloat in a world market flooded with mediocre beans.

Minas Gerais state grows more coffee than Colombia, which is the world's second largest producer after Brazil. The savannah -- known as the Cerrado -- is home to some of Brazil's finest beans.

Traditional and state-of-the-art coffee producers in the Cerrado are developing new coffee hybrids, as well as production and processing methods, to meet consumer demands for high quality beans.

At the Alto Cafezal estate, Jose Carlos Grossi said, however, "We're losing money at current price levels." The grandson of Italian immigrants, Grossi was one of the first to plant coffee 30 years ago in this part of the so-called Triangulo Mineiro.

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